I don't usually leave negative reviews for doctors or vets, because I think they often get blamed for events outside their control. I'll preface this review with saying that we had good interactions with Dr. Edwards (NOT Zobel, who we had terrible experiences with) in the four years since we moved to Garner. However, recent events dictate that we will not return, and we can't recommend this business to any other pet owners.
Our otherwise healthy 10 YO cat had a cloudy eye and diminished appetite for a week before we took him in. Edwards checked him out and determined that it was uveitis. She gave him a steroid shot, which she said would stimulate his appetite, and we left with antibiotics and eye drops. Seems like a typical course of treatment, if indeed it was uveitis. Edwards diagnosed it as such with only a light test and no other measures. I assumed this was normal (until I talked with a few other vets in the week and a half that followed). His appetite was NOT stimulated. Two days on the antibiotic and kitty had stopped eating and started showing signs of pain. Edwards changed his antibiotic to a different one. I had great reservations about this change, because he seemed to be getting worse, not better, even with the course of treatment. I communicated my discomfort, and I was assured that it was common. We were told to bring him in for a follow up in a week. At this point, I should have listened to my kitty-mom instinct.
Two days later, we're back in the vet's office, because he's very much not eating, not drinking, showing pain, and is lethargic. Edwards diagnoses it as pancreatitis (based on a blood sample). We're told that the cloudy eye and pancreatitis just happened to be coincidental. I mention (to the vet tech) that it seems unlikely (given all the signs that it's systemic) and maybe we should check for other things. I'm told, again, that the cloudy eye and pancreas inflammation happening at the same time are coincidental. We're instructed to leave him for three to four days, since it's over Thanksgiving and he needs fluids. We go to pick him up on Friday, they decide to keep him until Saturday, but we're told he's improving. We pick him up Saturday, with a note that he's been eating chicken baby food and drinking water and looking better. We were told to continue the antibiotic and call to follow up on Monday. When we get him home, he clearly is NOT better. He's barely able to move. He won't even look at his water dish. He's crying out in pain. By that time, the office is closed, so we call the ER vet who says that it might have been the stress from his visit, but if it gets worse we should bring him in immediately. He seems to want to rest, so we leave him alone. By Sunday morning, he's deteriorated even more. We rush him to the ER vet, where he is pronounced in shock and dies while they're trying to put in a feeding tube. The ER vet tells us that there was no sign of pancreatitis, based on a palpitation of his sides, but that he had a mass much lower down on his GI tract. She seemed surprised that no one ordered an ultrasound prior to that day. He had been suffering with multiple blood clots, one behind his eye, one in his GI tract, and one in his lungs. There wasn't anything we could do about the clots, even if we had found them in time, but it hurt to know that we had subjected our poor kitty to all of this unnecessary stress--pills, the time in the vet's care--when we could have made him comfortable at home.
Here's the real kicker to the story, and perhaps it more infuriating than the missed diagnoses (which I understand happens): They released him to us on Saturday, telling us that he was getting better when he clearly wasn't. I'm not a vet, and I could tell that when we got him home. I wonder if they even looked at him. If they knew he was dying, they should have told us. If they missed the signs of pain and weakness that were obviously there, then they're terrible at their jobs. There's no good way around that one. They built up our hope that he was getting better, and then he died. Second: I called Monday after he died to tell the vet techs what happened so they could relay the message to Dr. Edwards. I would have assumed that, being a professional, she (or one of her reps) would have called us back, sent a card, something. But nothing. We called to let them know that a pet they released on Saturday morning died Sunday morning, and we've heard nothing. We called and left three messages with the receptionists, but nothing.
I waited a week before posting to see if anyone would reach out to us from GAH, but no one did. Edwards does seem to try to keep the costs down, so I guess that's a good thing for a lot of people. She's friendly. I would say that, if you have to get lower-cost vet care for typical problems, this is a good facility (if you go with Edwards and NOT ZOBEL). If your pet needs something more involved, please get a second opinion or visit a different vet. read more
